Jump to content

Royal Aircraft Factory Fe2b in 1/144


Recommended Posts

That shade looks perfectly within the range of shades that probably appeared on contemporary aircraft... so yes you have nailed it! The remainder of the model is looking first class too and as others have written, a tribute to real skill.

 

As for Perdu's comments about this important and interesting machine .... well words fail me, (polite ones anyway!). Does the chap not know that there were about 2500 of these built and that they were in front line service for longer than any other allied type in WW1? Mutter, mutter.... Carolina? What's that? Give me a spare wing and a fan or two on any aeroplane - things with holes in the back indeed!!?

 

P

  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you so much everybody.  It is really a relief to know its in the right ballpark.  I used two apps which I have on my phone, that are designed for colour blind people.  While mixing, one told me it was brown.  The other said it was dull, dark green...  so I figured I must be somewhere close!  😅

 

I think I'm through with Mr Tamiya and his acrylics from now on however. I tried an experimental panel line wash in oils thinned with turpentine to an area behind the pilot's cockpit, but the Tamiya paint soaked up the wash and soon went tacky. I found I had to respray the area (again) and add what I hope will be a protective coat of Mr Color clear lacquer over the surface so I can work with it.

By comparison the Mr Color lacquer coat that was used to do the clear doped areas of the wings is very durable and allowed me to do washes of oil and turpentine over the surface without complaint. The walkway sections were grimed up a bit, and the rib tapes were shaded as lightly as I could manage with a sharpened .5mm pencil lead that was traced along strips of tape that were laid down as a guide.

I tried something new with the little rectangular brackets that mark the position of the hardpoints on the wings. A piece a scrap decal was brush painted in very dark grey and taped to an old gift card which I use as a sort of hand-held cutting board. The edges of the card are nicely square to one another, so I can rest my calipers on them and use them as a straight edge to mark and cut up grids of the decal film with a fresh scalpel blade.

The effect is shown below. The rectangles measure .3x.5mm and are quite easy to place in position with a fine brush that is lightly dampened with decal setting solution. I'm really pleased with that, as they are a very crisp looking detail that takes only a little time to do.  Maybe this could be useful in larger scales for data plates, fasteners and such?

 

vvmy63V.jpg?1

  • Like 11
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Putty Animal said:

The rectangles measure .3x.5mm

🤪

 

Thanks for showing your tips and tricks, this is an inspirational build.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On ‎28‎/‎04‎/‎2019 at 05:04, pheonix said:

Completely agrre with Ted.

 

BTW where on earth did you find that telegraph pole sized match?

 

P

Aw man, if I had a dollar for every giant match comment!

 

 

Okay, my little jam fancies.  Here we go again...  :lol:

 

 

 

So, earlier in the week I made this cute little Boulton Paul 4-blade propeller out of styrene strip and painted it with oils.  Then I put it in a box and tried not to even think about touching it for a few days. :unsure:

 

ndHvKy1.jpg?1

 

 

After an expectant (impatient) wait, I was able to get a coat of clear gloss on the propeller this morning.  I let it dry for a bit then gave it a light sand with some ultra fine emery paper to remove the slight hairiness of the oils.  The gloss was a bit overscale, so it got a second coat of Mr Color 182 Flat Clear which is always more of a satin when applied thinly.

 

The hub is a disk of silver painted decal, with a sliver of sprue in the centre and dabs of artist oils for the bolt heads.  I bought some Mr Metal Color 219 Brass to do the metal sheaths on the prop tips, but I'm uncertain now if the aircraft I'm trying to represent had them.  I'll leave it for now and see if any other info turns up.

 

WPwFcdV.jpg

 

I also did some more work on the nacelle, picking out some of the fasteners by dipping the end of an appropriately-sized piece of sprue into some oil paint and touching it to the model.  Also adding filler caps and whatnot.  The little arched plate below the pilot's cockpit was also made from a disk of painted decal. 

 

I suspect the plate formed part of a mount for a swivel gun for the pilot, as there was a small wedge shaped bracket that stuck out at the bottom of it.  I tried to add this several times but couldn't apply a small enough quantity of glue that didn't dry out before I positioned the wedge.  In the end I managed it though, using some UV-setting glue which I bought a while back from a craft store for around $3.  I found I could apply a minute amount and have an unlimited amount of time to position the piece under a desk lamp before wandering outside to give it a couple of seconds of direct sunlight.  It worked a treat.   :D

 

Still need to paint the styrene bit, but here is a shot of the parts as they stand today.

 

nceLSrM.jpg?1

Edited by Putty Animal
  • Like 12
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am really beginning to think that really this is a much larger scale and you are leading us on to believing that it is 1/144. The details that you have on that model are truly incredible: your patience muxt be almost limitless.

 

P

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know scratchbuilding, done a little bit, so I know what it takes

 

But for me the highlight of an amazingly good scratchbuild project

 

That wonderful propeller

 

N I C E !

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That prop! Phenomenal! What we now require is a photographic step by step guide on "here's how you do it." Please please 

Steve

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Never mind the match log... where did you get the ‘one foot to an inch’ ruler from? 

 

Fantastic precise work; l salute you sir.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, Stevejj said:

That prop! Phenomenal! What we now require is a photographic step by step guide on "here's how you do it." Please please 

Steve

Hi Steve, I'll do my best.  I must admit I didn't take any shots while in progress :(, so I've prepared a sort of "reenactment" below with the first blade I did which was a bit NQR.  I've edited the last set of images in photoshop to show how the cuts were made and the pieces assembled.  Hopefully it makes sense! 

 

The first bit is get the numbers.  I scanned my drawings at 1200 dpi and scaled them in photoshop to 1/144 scale.  Working by eye against a paper print out is no good.  Certainly not at this scale.  working from the prop tip you can use the ruler tool to measure the distance to the widest part of the blade and to the edge of the propeller hub.  4.3 and 8.7mm in this instance.

 

Uvk0Jju.jpg

 

cn2Ws5z.jpg

 

Using the edge of your calipers and a fresh scalpel blade, score these lines into a length of styrene strip and give them a rub so they show up visibly on the surface. In practice I'd square the end off properly before doing this, but you get the idea  😅

 

nLkXJf7.jpg

 

Next up, start nibbling away at the top of the blade with a fresh scalpel to get the right shape for the pointed tip.  Working from the tip inwards ensures there is plenty of material to work with and something to hang onto.

 

50GR6L8.jpg

 

Then start doing the same for the inside taper.  Keep the prop blade attached to the strip as long as possible.

 

E3SA8ZY.jpg

 

When the frontal shape is correct, start whittling down the aerofoil shape of the blade.  Working from the hub to the tip works best at this stage.  Scalpels, files and scrapers are all very useful for this.

Flip the blade over and do the back at the same time to avoid taking too much off one face.

 

LFg9F76.jpg

 

Once you've got the blade shaped right, stick it securely to a piece of sprue that represents the hub.  If you need to you can fair it in with putty.   I find that putty straight from the tube is not very good.  It's best to thin it down and float it on with a brush to get good contours that would otherwise be difficult to create by hand.  I prefer Tamiya white putty over other brands.  If you want to get a really strong bond, you can thin the putty down with liquid glue before applying it.

 

Once you get going you can quite quickly end up with four of these:

Now just to be clear... what you want for this are four individual blades on four individual propeller hubs. 

 

YwL2ZIJ.jpg

 

 

The shots below are edited to try and recreate the process.

 

Get two of the prop/hubs and cut their hubs in half like so

 

xDhqjF0.jpg

 

And stick them together, making sure each one is facing the right way up.

 

lri3SBx.jpg

 

If its a two-blade prop you want, you're pretty much done.  However if it is a four-blade, get a good sharp scalpel and use the tip to cut a vee into one side of the hub.  There should still be enough strength in the joint that you can do this without splitting it. 

 

vfc0EYa.jpg

 

Get prop blade number three and cut its hub to fit.  I made my vees fairly loose to give some wriggle room and used gap filling superglue to take up the slack.

 

P2NRimm.jpg

 

Once the three blades are assembled do the same with the fourth and that's pretty much it.

 

pXBw2A6.jpg

 

The pics aren't too well edited, but you get the idea.  Finish up with a good coat of primer and a sand with fine wet n dry paper.  Thinned down putty can be used to touch up any areas that need it.

 

Cheers!

PA

  • Like 8
  • Thanks 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks so much for taking the trouble to post the " how to" picture explanation of prop manufacture. 

Its much appreciated. Again many thanks

Steve

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The dear old Fee is beginning to look more like itself now.  A fellow 1/144 modeller over at http://www.kampfgruppe144.com/phpBB3/index.php (check it out) very kindly sent me the cockades from a Valom kit which fitted the sides of the nacelle perfectly.  I also applied the B1 codes for A857 which were taken from an MYK set for the F1M2 Pete. The letter B was a fraction wide, so I carefully cut a tiny section out of the centre and put the pieces back together.

I also had some time to wrestle the fuel tank into the pilot's cockpit. For a while there I didn't think it was going to fit. After that the engine-bearers got a coat of paint and the Beardmore was cemented into place. Some of the side detail was added too, although there's still more to go on the other side. However it's starting to look pleasingly busy.  Next up I'll probably look at the windscreen and the underwing markings. 

 

6kIL1x5.jpg

Edited by Putty Animal
  • Like 10
Link to comment
Share on other sites

And a fourth! The detail is incredible and most importantly, not overscale. 

Thanjs for the "how to" on the prop too!

 

Ian

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Blimey. This looks very smart. Thanks for the propellor tutorial - very interesting, and I hadn't considered the separate hubs bit. Every day a schoolday etc. I'll definitely be trying that method myself.

Jon

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...